New north Fort Worth restaurant has catfish, burgers and lakeside sunsets
You ought to be at the lake.
And north Fort Worth’s lake has a new burgers-and-catfish restaurant.
The Anchor on Eagle Mountain Lake, 6680 Peden Road, is a marina grill-and-bar with a sprawling wraparound patio and one of the best catfish dinners on the lake.
Co-owner Dustin Bunney also co-owns the Blue Mound Cafe plate-lunch restaurants. But the new Anchor is a step up, with a wide menu of burgers, platters and seafood items.
It’s a pretty drive north on Boat Club Road and west on Peden Road to the lake. If you know where the Fort Worth Boat Club turnoff is, it’s another 5 miles to the turn for The Anchor.
You might even see deer along this tree-lined drive in the fast-growing neighborhood near Bonds Ranch in northwest Tarrant County.
At Lakeview Marina, no obvious sign points to The Anchor. But look for the boat launch, and The Anchor is to the right.
It used to be a Tex-Mex restaurant and before that, a weekend barbecue place. But the Anchor is an all-day, everyday grill and bar.
The entryway is still through the bar. But there’s plenty of indoor seating, and the outdoor patio wraps around the restaurant facing the docks and lake.
The “jalapeño popper” bacon burger with cream cheese (with fries, $14) came recommended. It’s clever, but I’d slice the popper and put it on the burger. The cream cheese cuts the jalapeño heat.
The real star is the fried catfish basket ($14) with two buttery-soft, lightly breaded fillets — no, they’re not from the lake — and notably tasty hush puppies.
All the sauces are distinctive: the tartar sauce, a house remoulade, an Anchor sauce for chicken tenders and wings or a house Thai chili sauce that comes on the (too chewy) calamari.
The seafood menu hasn’t been expanded yet, but Bunney and co-owner Shelbie Baker plan to add fresh shrimp, chilled oysters and salmon.
The Anchor is open for lunch and dinner daily, breakfast through dinner weekends. Food is served until 11 p.m. weeknights, until midnight Fridays and Saturdays; 682-224-2295, lakeviewboatingcenter.com.
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
